The office environment of today makes extensive use of the so-called "opening office system" for dividing large open areas into smaller work areas. Such open office system employs upright space divider panels which are serially connected together for dividing the large area into smaller work areas. Such panels conventionally mount thereon numerous furniture components such as work surfaces, filing cabinets and the like for use within the individual work areas. Such panels, which are supported on the floor and project upwardly therefrom, typically having a height which is substantially less than floor-to-ceiling height so that the upper edges of the panels are spaced downwardly a substantial distance from the ceiling. Such panels often times employ electrical wiring integrated therein, with such wiring typically being confined within a raceway structure which is integrated with the panel along the lower horizontally extending edge thereof. Electrical power is supplied to the electrified raceway structure from electrical monuments in either the floor or the ceiling. The latter is a preferred location since such environments typically employ a drop-type or suspended ceiling which provides a space thereabove for equipment such as electrical and communication cabling, heating and ventilation, and the like. When the electrical cabling and the electrical monuments are positioned above the drop ceiling, then electrical power is supplied to the electrified raceways associated with the panel system through a floor-to-ceiling pole (often referred to as a power pole) which is typically joined between a pair of panels and projects upwardly thereabove. The upper end of this pole terminates at or slightly above the suspended ceiling. This arrangement is well known, being illustrated by FIG. 1 herewith, and permits cabling to be fed downwardly from above the suspended ceiling through the interior of the pole for connection to cabling associated with the wall panels.
In open office systems of the aforementioned type, it has been conventional to run both electrical and communication cabling through the raceway assembly associated with the lower edges of the panels. However, due to the substantially increased needs of both communication and power capability, the tendency has been to separate the electrical and communication cabling from one another, and hence attempts have been made to run the communication cables along a channel or raceway formed along the upper edges of the panels, with the power cables still being run along the raceways associated with the lower edges of the panels. This arrangement, however, substantially complicates the installation of communication cables, particularly when using a ceiling-type pole. The communication cables are typically installed into the wall system after the wall system has been fully assembled inasmuch as the communication cables must be fed into and along the wall system in dependence on the types and amount of communication equipment which is being utilized in the various work areas. Hence, the communication cabling can be fed along the raceways or channels associated with the upper edges of the panels merely by removing the top caps from the individual panels, but when encountering a ceiling-type pole, it is necessary to provide a closed slot extending transversely through the pole, and hence the communication cables must be individually fed, as by inserting a free end of each cable, through the slot in the pole. Needless to say, this is a time-consuming and labor-intensive operation, particularly when working with significant numbers or long-lengths of communication cabling. Thus, the conventional ceiling-type pole arrangement, particularly when used in conjunction with a wall system employing top channels for the communication cabling, hence results in a wall system which requires complex and time-consuming installation procedures with respect to on-site installation of communication cabling.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved ceiling-type pole arrangement for use with an open-office wall panel system, which improved pole arrangement overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantage.
More specifically, the present invention relates to an improved ceiling-type pole arrangement for use with a space-divider wall system, which pole arrangement is longitudinally split into upper and lower pole portions which are aligned and abut in end-to-end relationship when assembled for cooperation with and connection between a pair of wall panels. The upper and lower pole portions interfit between and are splined or keyed to the pair of adjacent wall panels, and the upper pole portion has at least the lower part thereof disposed so as to project downwardly a small extent into the region between the adjacent pair of panels so as to be splined thereto. The lower end part of this upper pole portion, however, contains slots in the opposed side walls thereof, which slots open upwardly from the lower free end of the upper pole portion and communicate with channels which extend along the upper edges of the panels. These latter channels are adapted to accommodate cabling therein so that cabling extending along these channels can extend through the slots to hence extend across the pole for continuous communication with the pair of panels which join to opposite sides of the pole. Since the ceiling pole is split into the upper and lower portions, when the lay-in of communication cables is desired, the upper pole portion can be longitudinally slidably displaced upwardly a small extent so as to disengage itself from the keys or splines. In this position the lower free end of the upper pole portion is disposed at or slightly above the upper edges of the panels, whereupon communication cables can be laid into the top channel of one panel and then moved sidewardly and hence laid into the slot so as to jumper across into the channel of the adjacent panel. The upper pole portion can then be moved downwardly so as to again slidably engage the keys or splines, with the upper pole portion being slid downwardly until it effectively abuts the upper end of the lower pole portion. The upper and lower pole portions define a continuous interior channel therethrough for receiving cabling, and at least one of the exposed side walls of the upper and lower pole portions is open throughout the length thereof to facilitate the laying-in of cabling along the power pole, which cabling can be laid in vertically therealong and bent horizontally into one of the top channels of an adjacent panel, such as when the upper pole portion is in its raised position. A continuous cover extends throughout the length of the upper and lower pole portions, with this cover snapping into the opening of the pole portions so as to close off the opening and form a closed surface which is substantially flush with the sides of the panel. This continuous cover effectively disguises or visually hides the split between the upper and lower pole portions, which split is positioned downwardly a small distance from the upper edges of the panels, whereby the split pole arrangement does not significantly visually effect the desirable appearance of the system.
Other object and purposes of the invention will be apparent to persons familiar with systems of this type upon reading the following specification and inspecting the accompanying drawings.